The earnings season kicked off on a disappointing note with IT behemoth Infosys Technologies reporting numbers that failed to meet Street expectations. The unexpected resignation of TV
Mohandas Pai from the company was a dampener and Infosys stocks tanked nearly 10 per cent in trade.
The company reported a consolidated profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 1,818 crore for the fourth quarter ending March 31, 2011 against Rs 1,600 crore recorded in the year-ago period. Revenues for the fourth quarter increased to Rs 7,250 crore from Rs 5,944 crore recorded during the fourth quarter of the previous fiscal.
According to FY 12 guidance, the company expects 18 to 20 per cent year-on-year growth with an EPS of Rs 126.05 to Rs 128.21. The company expects revenue in the range of Rs 7,311- Rs 7,382 crore for the quarter ending June 30, 2011, and in the range of Rs 31,727- Rs 32,270 crore for the financial year FY12.
For the full financial year ending March 31, 2011, PAT rose to Rs 6,823 crore from Rs 6,219 crore. Revenues for the entire fiscal also rose to Rs 27,501 crore from Rs 22,742 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.
The board also declared a final dividend of Rs 20 per share for the fiscal on every share of Rs 5 held.
Basic earnings per share (EPS) for the full year rose to Rs 119.45 from Rs 109.02. The guidance given by the company in the previous fiscal pegged EPS at Rs 111.
V Balakrisnanan, CFO of Infosys, said margins could dip next year because the company would hire around 45,000 employees. Also appreciation in the rupee and a decline in utilization capacity are likely to affect the margins.